Beauty and the peace

Crystal clear lakes, peace, quiet and great access: Finland has a lot to offer disabled visitors, says Ivy Broadhead.

My understanding of Finnish culture had always focused primarily on Moomins and alcoholism, and while both were noticeable when I visited last month, Finland does have more to offer.

Finns seem to live much closer to nature than we do, with many families owning a summer cottage to escape to at weekends. It’s easy to see the attraction, with crystal clear lakes, an impressive 180,000 of them in fact, and dense woodland everywhere you look.

The first stop of our tour around Finland was Metsakartano, an activity centre in the wilderness area of Kuopio, close to the Russian border. It caters for school trips and other groups, although private bookings are also welcome, and the friendly, knowledgeable staff are completely unfazed by adapting their programme to suit anyone’s needs.

Inevitably, nature isn’t always that accessible to some disabled people, with hills and uneven ground posing a problem for wheelchair-users or people with mobility problems, but with decked wooden walkways leading through a wildlife area and down to the lake, anyone can drink in the beautiful views.

The main buildings at Metsakartano are all wheelchair-accessible, along with some of the bedrooms, and extra hoists or other equipment can be hired to cater for disabled guests.

The serenity of the surroundings alone make the trip worthwhile, but if you feel like being a little more active there is plenty on offer, from hunting elk to picking berries, photography, canoeing and indoor basketball. Many of these activities can easily be done from wheelchair level or, with assistance, for people without much strength or mobility.

Like many Scandinavian countries, Finland has a strong welfare system, with rehabilitation and physiotherapy, for example after spinal injury, paid for by the state. We came across several “rehabilitation” spa hotels on our trip, which is a concept I wasn’t really familiar with. They were generally completely accessible, with lifts into swimming pools, pool wheelchairs, and rails along the sides of the pools, as well as wide doorways, lifts and ramps to all areas.

Philip Scott, managing director of Can Be Done, a tour operator specialising in travel for disabled people, says that the UK market is more focused on leisure than on treatment, and that the vast majority of his clients would be more interested in the spa or the activities on offer than in the physiotherapists on staff. So far, Finland has lagged behind more familiar destinations like Spain in the holiday market, but Philip says this is purely down to negative perceptions. Can Be Done was founded in 1985 by Philip’s late wife Jackie, a wheelchair user, when she saw firsthand how little there was on offer for disabled holidaymakers. “When clients complain [about access] we understand, because it happened to us,” says Philip. Can Be Done now organises trips for around 1,500 clients every year, and can organise anything from sign language interpreters to accessible taxis to hoists for disabled holidaymakers.

Although Finland sells itself primarily on the peace and tranquility of its countryside, Helsinki is a perfectly nice city with plenty of open green space, and is no less accessible than most UK cities. Walking around the city, I noticed dropped kerbs, beeping pedestrian crossings, a semi-accessible tram system and ramps outside some buildings (I am assured by our guide that all public buildings are accessible). As is generally the way, the bigger, more expensive hotels were the most accessible, offering adapted rooms, loop hearing systems and vibrating fire alarms. In both Helsinki and the other Finnish city I visited, Savonlinna, where the opera festival brings throngs of tourists every year, the architecture was largely new, and not particularly impressive.

Savonlinna does offer an accessible lake cruise which takes around an hour, and, although rather bracing, offers beautiful views of the castle and lakeside.

Everyone speaks English to some degree, from hotel staff to students in the street, which is quite embarrassing when compared to our own national ineptitude in the language stakes, but does make asking for directions a little easier.

The downside was that in a week in Finland I failed to expand on my two existing words of Finnish, which are ‘Kiitos’ (thanks) and ‘Kipis’ (cheers), although my Finnish friend informed me that Finns don’t actually use cheers, since it eats into valuable drinking time. Saunas are a big thing in Finnish culture; our guide explained that, at least historically, people went to saunas to wash, give birth, and even prepare the body after death. “It’s where you begin your life, and where you end it,” she said.

Even if the sweat and steam you find in UK leisure centres doesn’t do it for you, I would advise you to give it a go, as they aren’t nearly as hot or airless as our version, and you’re unlikely to have your very own lake to dip into afterwards anywhere else. Nothing like a midnight dip to get the blood pumping!

When I went in August, the weather was largely bright and clear but already quite cold, and it’s worth bearing in mind that daylight is scarce come midwinter, if you’re planning a trip. Alcohol is painfully expensive in bars and restaurants, with a pint of beer often costing over a fiver, although food and accommodation are much more reasonable. At the places we visited, food was good, hearty fare, with lots of rye bread, fish and vegetables; plenty of sustenance for all of the activities on offer.

If your idea of a holiday expands beyond sun, sea and sand, I would certainly recommend Finland as a destination for any traveller looking for fun and relaxation, whether it be skiing in Lapland in wintertime, visiting Santa’s reindeer, exploring your hunter gatherer instincts hunting and berry picking, or just letting the world stop for a second at the stillness of a lakeside.

As a final point, it’s worth mentioning that, on coming to England, Finns I know had been shocked by how many people stared at me, being 4’3’’ tall, and insisted that no Finn would be so impolite. Refreshingly, he was right. Finns, even after a few overpriced drinks, didn’t stare or make any comments. In fact, the only extra attention I experienced was from a small English child. Makes you proud, eh?

Ivy's trip was organised by Can De Done and the Finnish Tourist Board.

Did you know?

Finland stages the world wife carrying championships, the international mobile phone throwing world championships and festivals for swamp football, sauna bathing and air guitar.

Did you know?

In 1989, Finland's national broad caster began airing weekly news round-ups in Latin. They are also available around the world on the internet.

Did you know?

MIESKUORO HUUTAJAT, Finland's male shouting choir, was formed in 1987. Dressed in black suits, white shirts and black rubber ties, the choir performs at rock concerts, folk festivals and chamber music recitals around the world.

Fact file

Metsakartano

Prices at Metsakartano start at just €30 per person per night, ranging up to €99, although the final price depends on the activities you want to take part in as well as where you want to stay, from basic dormitory-style rooms to more luxurious log cabins. Tel: 358 (0)17 688 2200 or visit www.metsakartano.com.

Flights to Finland

You can fly directly to Finland from London Heathrow, Edinburgh, and Manchester airports, with Finnair in partnership with British Airways, although Blue1 and SAS (Scandinavian airlines) also fly to Finland from the UK. For Finnair call 0870 241 4411 or visit www.finnair.com. For SAS call 0870 60 727 727 from the UK or visit www.flysas.com. For Blue1 call +358 (0)20 585 6000 or visit www.blue1.com.

Can Be Done

Can Be Done is a tour operator based in Harrow, specialising in travel for disabled people. It offers tailor-made holidays to destinations from Disneyland Paris to the Middle East. Tel: 020 8907 2400 or visit www.canbedone.co.uk.

Savonlinna

The opera festival runs from 4 July-2 August 2008 but is extremely popular so it’s best to book hotels and tickets well in advance. The festival website is www.operafestival.fi or call +358 (0)15 476 7450. For information on lake cruises and what else is on offer in Savonlinna, Tel: +358 (0)15 517 510 or visit www.savonlinnatravel.com.

Train travel

Some routes, including any served by Pendolino trains, are wheelchair-accessible and have other access provisions like Braille signs and announcements when the train reaches a stop, as well as being cleaner and more efficient than we are used to in the UK. Tel: +358 (0)9805 7393 or www.accessibletravel.fi has more information, if you can forgive their repeated use of the word invalid.